Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I rescued an aprox 6ft boa with the actual intent of putting her down. I am not in a position financially to take it to a vet and Ive spent hundreds on rescues that were not nearly as sick and still died. Her owner says it was bitten by a rat "awhile" ago. It was housed in a glass tank with no heat, dirty pine shavings. When I arrived he had the snake out in the garage in 50 degree weather so it could "get some air". The snake is very underweight and it's mouth/nose very swollen and disfigured. It was impossibl;e to tell the location of nostrils.proceding with putting it down was harder then I expected and i decided to give her a chance. I soaked her in warm water for an hour,flushed mouth with hydroperoxide solution then eye wash and aggressively swabbed a ton of grey "cheese" from mouth.There were big pockets that appeared to have rotted through the upper jaw. it also oozed from the top of the nose.Snake is also loaded up with mucus.I followed this with a lathering of polysporin. Been keeping her at 90degrees, no water but daily ihr soakings followed by mouth swabbs with polysporin. It's been 5 days now and snake does seem to have improved, swelling going down, grey cheese not back yet and a little more active. Does this snake actually have a chance or am I just prolonging it's misery?

Reptiles can be surprisingly hardy. I'd say that as long as there is significant improvement, then continue on course. You will be faced with a decision sooner or later, depending on how things progress.
1. Snake gets better, woohoo!
2. Snake plateaus. Stops getting better, still sick; not getting worse for the time being. This is when you should again consider taking it to the vet. Systemic antibiotics at this point, plus further attention to any related problems will likely get the snake over the hump and save it's life.
3. Snake stops getting better and begins a down turn. At this point there is still a chance to save it, but considering your financial concerns, my opinion would be that this would be the time to euthanise the boa.

If you decide to euthanize, I would still call a vet. Many "at home" euthanasia solutions are actually quite cruel (freezing is a perfect example). Some vets might consider euthanasia without costs considering your situation.

Good luck with your snake. I wish you all the best.

Ian